New Jersey may take another stab at creating new utilities to deal with stormwater runoff, the state's most persistent problem fouling its waterways and causing major flooding.

The Senate Environment and Energy Committee is reviving a bill (S-1073) that would allow municipalities, counties, and certain authorities to create stormwater utilities, an approach used in other states to limit pollution caused by runoff.

The concept is not new in New Jersey, but it has failed to win final legislative approval in the past, even though the federal Environmental Protection Agency has ranked stormwater management as the state's most expensive water-related funding need at $15.6 billion.

About 160 people attended a “Mayors’ Climate Summit” at Rutgers University Feb. 3, an event that was the brainchild of Mayor Phil Kramer.

The summit was held at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick and was attended mainly by mayors and other elected officials from throughout the state.

Sponsored by the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Sustainable Jersey and the Bloustein School, the summit was seen as a way for elected officials to meet and share ideas of dealing with the effects of climate change, in light of the Trump administration’s decision to remove the country from the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Paris Agreement is a multinational agreement, under the auspices of the United Nations, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2020.

Attendees hailed the event as a success and looked forward to future meetings.

PHILLIPSBURG — Gov. Phil Murphy has announced he will join the governors of Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware to support a ban on fracking in the 3,000-square-mile Delaware River watershed.

Murphy called fracking "one of modern times' most damaging threats." Its use of chemicals, and their ability to pollute water systems, puts at risk the health and safety of people and the economic life of Delaware River towns, he said.

It was the latest of several environmental actions Murphy took last week.

ATLANTIC CITY — Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order Wednesday to return the state to national leadership in offshore wind energy.

New Jersey will finally implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act of 2010, which languished under Gov. Chris Christie, Murphy said at a press conference at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s wind farm and wastewater treatment plant.

The Murphy administration needs to focus on the disproportionate impacts of pollution and contamination on poor urban communities, according to a transition team report for Gov. Phil Murphy.

The 15-page environmental and energy report suggests that addressing the environmental-justice disparities in low-income and mostly communities of color ought to be promoted as a core principle of the new administration, one that is reflected across all departments and programs.

The recommendation, one of four overarching priorities identified by the transition team, calls for reducing the air and water pollution burdening those communities, and proposes that a substantial portion of the new funding on its way be dedicated to these initiatives.

Imagine this: A governor talking about the sad reality of climate change, investing aggressively in renewable energy, and creating housing safe from the danger of lead.

To the state’s diverse environmental community, Gov. Phil Murphy’s inaugural speech signaled that New Jersey once again should embrace a leadership role in protecting its air, water, and land from the legacy of pollution that too often in the past defined it.

A proposal by the Trump administration this week to open most of the U.S. coast to fossil fuel exploration and drilling stunned New Jersey officials and environmentalists, who are vowing to fight back.

“Let’s call this what it is,” said Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, who will be sworn in Jan. 16. “What President Trump announced [Thursday] is nothing less than dropping a ticking time bomb off our coast.”

Murphy, a Democrat, made the statement at a news conference Friday morning in Monmouth County, flanked by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, both Democrats. Murphy called for bipartisan opposition from the state’s congressional delegation, but protecting the coastline already is a bipartisan issue.

The naming of Catherine McCabe as the governor-elect’s pick to head up the state’s Department of Environmental Protection drew praise from the state’s enviro-community.

New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak joined the chorus of praise for McCabe.

“We certainly have to make up for lost ground over the previous administration and that’s going to take some really dedicated individuals,” he said. “She’s going to need to build out a strong team, but I think New Jersey is well-positioned to be a leader once again on environmental protection.”

Until recently, water infrastructure in New Jersey has remained largely out of sight, out of mind, lulling us into a false sense of security. However, we are now starting to see our lack of investment coming back to haunt us.

We cannot swim in the Passaic River because of pollution. Children in Camden walk through sewage that has backed up onto the streets because the pipes cannot handle the rain. Commuters sit in snarled traffic in Hoboken as crews repair water main breaks. And across the state, parents fear the danger of lead in water fountains at their children's schools.

Assessment surveys conducted in 2012 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimate that New Jersey needs to spend a combined $25 billion over the next 20 years on its wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water infrastructure to ensure reliability and keep up with demand.